Hussain reckons 'brilliant' Panesar deserves more chances

Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar deserves more chances to play for England in Test cricket, having once again proved his doubters wrong, says former Test captain and cricket commentator Nasser Hussain.

Panesar came up with an inspired performance to help England beat India in Mumbai and put them back in the reckoning.

"Panesar was quite brilliant in this second Test. We had all the talk about whether he should have more variations or bowl at differing paces but in this game he did what he does best: bowl quickly and get the ball to spin at pace," Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

"In recent times Monty has only played when it has been blindingly obvious that he should, but perhaps England need to change their mindset and play him unless it is blindingly obvious that he should not," he added.

"Sometimes we don't see what's in front of our eyes and in Panesar England have a seriously good bowler who has made a strong case for playing more often," he further wrote.

Hussain added: "Some of the deliveries he bowled to Sachin Tendulkar in particular were remarkable and for that reason I would not be too critical of the Indian batsmen."